I am brand new to shotguns and am picking up a used Mossberg 500. Are there any usefull add-ons to consider for it? I don't want to hang a bunch of stuff from it, so, I don't care about rails and scope mounts and the like. I guess I'm wondering if stuff like a sidesaddle ammo carrier, sling, etc. are worth considering or are they just stuff that gets in the way?

I have a mag extension, took it off. It completely changed the guns balance when loaded. I'd rather have 4+1 with a gun that still points and shoots where I want. I don't even think that is an option on a 500 anyway.

a detachable G.P.S. so you can find yourself to the range oh yea and alot of ammo
some would advise a lite but i have found well placed nite-lites in your home good for more than to prevent toe stubbing!!

A light would be good, but you have to watch where you put them. I have been smacked in the hand a few times with lights on the forearm. Other then that not much. Extra shells are good, something like a sleeve on the stock or side saddle. Fiber optic front sights are awesome but not required for short range HD. Go buy a one hundred pack of 7.5/8 shot and do some shooting!

Side saddle for more ammo, buttstock ammo carrier (W/cheekpad is nice!), and an extended Mag tube. I also have the enlarged safety button which allows me to snip the safety off with the side of my trigger finger without changing my firing grip on the gun. That's all you need for a CSG.

The slings which carry ammo are no good. They're heavy with ammo on them and swing all over the place, no good.

A lot of people like a shorter stock on a defensive shotgun. This is because they believe that a defensive shotgun should be mounted with your shoulders squared up rather than angled like they are for hunting or target shooting. They believe starting squared up gives you a greater range of motion and better balance if you need to react quickly.

Of course, a shorter stock means shorter overall length, which some people see as a positive in regard to maneuverability.

The Hogue 12" LOP stock is popular among people who prefer the shorter stocks.

Other common suggestions include a light that, when quickly flashed (which is how they're often taught to be used), helps to verify the location of the threat (and whether it really IS a threat), and can temporarily blind an intruder in some cases, giving you an extra advantage.

A sling is also often recommended, so you can use your hands for other tasks--calling the police, carrying kids to a safe room, readying a side arm, etc.--without dropping the gun.

Some people like a big bright front bead for quick aiming in the dark.

And a side saddle makes sense as well.

Having said all that, the gun I would use for HD is not decked out at all, but those additions do at least seem logical depending on a person's circumstances.

As for additions to avoid, I'd shy away from pistol grip only stocks, vertical/pistol grip forends, any type of optics, or heat shields.

To keep it bare bones, I'd probably go with a light, good sling, and if you really feel bored maybe see if you can get one of those chokes with the spikey parts on the end? Though if you're close enough to smack them with it I would assume you wouldn't need the shotgun anymore.

The best accessory is a good class at the hands of someone who knows their way around a fighting shotgun. Very few people will learn as much as fast any other way - a lot of folks complain about the supposed cost of a class, but good training will actually SAVE time and money in the long run. When you can get through a couple of varied iterations of the Rolling Thunder drill without flapping, you'll know what I mean The mindset and skillset of the shooter are far, far more important that anything that can be bought and bolted onto the shotgun.

That said, I tend to stick with Louis Awerbuck's short list of accessories for a defensive shotgun. Going back to my notes from the Shotgun I class (May 2006) -

- a stock short enough for the shooter to to use comfortably, most shotgun stocks are too long for many shooters. A good recoil pad is a big help.

- a sling is to a shogun as a holster is to a pistol. KISS as far as slings are concerned, the simpler and stronger the better.

- a white light source mounted on the gun, especially on pump guns.

- sights, if the shooter prefers them. Sights need to be simple and sturdy, front sights should be silver soldered onto the gun

__________________Mindset - Skillset - Toolset. In that order!

Attitude and skill will get you through times of no gear, better than gear will get you through times of no attitude and no skill.

On my Mossberg 500 I put a rear pistol grip on with a side saddle shell holder.

In the rear most slot of the shell holder I put a sure fire flashlight mount that fits in one of the shell slots.
The flashlight had a push-on, let go-off button on the rear of the light that I could use with my thumb while still gripping the rear pistol grip.

This was the perfect set up and it worked well for me.
It can allow you to light up the night and let go to adjust your position while the bad guys are temporarily blinded as a fixed "on" light can be deadly if the bad guys are shooting at the direction of your light.

I snuck up on a pack of wild dogs that were terrorizing my shepherd out back one night.
The flashlight worked just as I planned and got their attention as I moved to another spot and opened fire.

The biggest regret I had was putting a front pistol grip on this pump shotgun.
Don't do it....it is so uncomfortable and takes away from the stable feel of the gun and just does not feel right......it's more of a hindrance in my opinion.

The pic below is very similar to what I had but my light was in the rear slot with a push button at the rear of the flashlight.
The coil cord and pressure switch is okay and I tried that but did not like the bulk of the cord because I did not want the extra obstruction near my spare shells.
I had since sold my shotgun to someone that really begged me for it so I need to build another one.http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...672aac73ea.jpg

I have a mag extension, took it off. It completely changed the guns balance when loaded. I'd rather have 4+1 with a gun that still points and shoots where I want. I don't even think that is an option on a 500 anyway

You're correct that extensions aren't an option on the 500, you'd have to get an entirely different tube and barrel if you wanted to change the magazine capacity. So I'd agree with others that the best items on a defensive shotgun are a side saddle and light. As far as a sling goes, I personally do not like slings on my shotguns because there are too many ways for it to interfere with weapon manipulation. Another upgrade I think is worthwhile on a defensive shotgun is a better set of sights. I personally like ghost rings because they give me the option to use slugs and extend the usable range of my shotgun out exponentially. But that's really only a necessary thing if you plan on using your gun with slugs as well.

I will say the most important thing you can do with a defensive shotgun is spend the money to try various loads and actually pattern the gun. It takes some time and money to shoot your way through various loads, but it's well worth the time to find what will actually shoot and pattern best from a gun you plan to use for home defense. I was surprised to find that my Mossberg 500 patterned best with some really cheap 00 Buck, where most of the other guns I've shot have done better with more expensive ammunition. So take the time to pattern it and see what YOUR gun likes, it's well worth the time.

The only necessary accesories on a shotgun IMHO are a flashlight, sling, and maybe some type of extra shell carrier. Everything else is "tactical" and can add weight or change the balance of the shotgun.

Well, the light might be a good idea, but everyone says the Surefire forend is the way to go and that's not really an option for me at the moment. They seem to be more than what I paid for the gun. I'll probably start with a sidesaddle and go from there.

I put on the mount and light below OP. The whole rig was less than $100 when I got it, about $70. If you used a 1" scope ring, it would be even less. Its a Laserlyte Tri-Rail and a SteamLight 2AA PolyTac 130 lumen light.

I mounted it on the side, because it interfered with the sling, but my thumb hits it perfect there too.

Its not as nice as the forearm light, etc, but it works and isn't very expensive.

I put on the mount and light below OP. The whole rig was less than $100 when I got it, about $70. If you used a 1" scope ring, it would be even less. Its a Laserlyte Tri-Rail and a SteamLight 2AA PolyTac 130 lumen light.

I mounted it on the side, because it interfered with the sling, but my thumb hits it perfect there too.

I ran a similar setup for a while that I thought worked well enough. Then I took a shotgun class and found out that the mount wouldn't stay secure through all the rounds that got shot during the course of the first day. So that night I tightened it all down real well only to find out the next day that it was too tight and had bent my magazine tube just enough to seize up my follower. I spent the rest of the class using a loaner 870, and then I went home and ordered a new tube and a Surefire fore end.

Bottom line is that if you are going to clamp something to your magazine tube, be careful to not over tighten it and plan that you'll have to use some Lock Tite on it as well. I wasn't willing to go that route since I had no guarantee I wouldn't over tighten it again, and I sure didn't want to be using a hair dryer to heat up the Lock Tite every time I wanted to disassemble the gun. YMMV...

Thats really good advice. Yes, mounting something to the tube, you have to be careful. Lucky mine is solid as a rock and the tube un-dented. With the way it feels now and with loc-tite on the screws, if it comes loose; I'll probably just go to a forearm one. I don't want something coming loose and its already less that ideal, but still works, at least mine does. I've got an 870 with a light too, so its not as crucial if my 500 light mount fails either. Especially when it just sets in the corner, inside and I'm not exposing it to rough range/field use.

You don't need to take off the rail, if you want to change barrels though. Its only in the way, if you want to take the forearm off.

Thats really good advice. Yes, mounting something to the tube, you have to be careful.

I learned another valuable lesson from that experience when I went home and tried to polish the follower down enough that it would slide freely past my slightly dented tube. Turns out if you do get the follower polished to that point, it will also slide out far enough that it will interfere with cartridge interrupter when the last shell has fed which will lock up your action really nicely. It was just flat out DUMB on my part to try and make it work in the short term while waiting for a new tube, and as a result I had to order a new follower as well.

Since it's confession time, I also managed to dent the tube on a Benelli M2 by taking it apart with the wrong tools. That was a lot more costly a mistake, but it taught me that there's a reason to have the right tool for the job.

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